It is estimated that a staggering 2 billion people worldwide suffer from some type of inflammation. Inflammation is a vast biological process and an integral part of our immune response. The inflammatory response may be acute (short lived) or chronic (longer lasting) and can occur in almost every part of the body whether it be internal or external. Interestingly as well, whatever the cause of inflammation, the biological changes that occur within the body due to the inflammation response are the same throughout the body, meaning the modes of reducing inflammation, which different anti-inflammatory agents carry are the same in all parts of the body.
Typically, inflammation is a natural response and a necessary one that rids the cells of injury causes, foreign attacks, or removes dead cells. However, excess inflammation has drastic and sometimes detrimental effects on the human body. Indeed, an inflammatory response can have long-lasting, negative consequences such as tissue damage. During an inflammatory response, the body releases lysosomal enzymes which can damage tissue and can even lead to a life-threatening hypersensitivity reaction. These conditions can have long-lasting effects both externally, with the development of acute skin rashes and eczema, and internally, triggering diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. As a result, maintaining a normal level of inflammation is very important for our health and wellbeing, both inside and out. Unfortunately, inflammation is on the rise. One of the major factors of this increase comes from our exposure to an increasing variety of external agents that our bodies are not accustomed to.
Most anti-inflammatory treatments used today are drugs. There are two major types of anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These include: Immunosuppressives (methotrexate, ciclosporin); Specific biological drugs (mostly TNF-alpha inhibitors, but also inhibitors of cyclooxygenase enzyme for example); Cytotoxic drugs; and Oral retinoids (acitretin). Furthermore, topical treatments exist to specifically reduce skin inflammation. Examples include creams and ointment (mostly cortisone based), and physical treatments like UV radiations. These drugs however have drastic side-effects such as gastrointestinal toxicity and anaphylactoid reactions. They can even suppress the immune system to such a point that it is made vulnerable to other diseases and pathogens.
Therefore, there is a clear need for the identification of agents having anti-inflammatory activity that are not immunosuppressive and/or cause other undesirable side effects. To that end, very specific types of food are known to reduce inflammation (Kiecolt-Glaser J. K. et al. 2010, Middleton E. et al. 2000, Chatterjee M. et al. 2005). Indeed, particular components of these specific foods are in low concentrations, hidden, or locked away, and once identified and unlocked can be scaled to specifically target inflammation in a recognized way, as our bodies understand the components of food and are able to readily process these molecules. Indeed, these particular food molecules can reduce inflammation without completely blocking this immune system response which puts the body in a vulnerable state. For those with many food allergies as well, identifying and unlocking the particular components of a food that may reduce inflammation would allow for these individuals to gain the anti-inflammatory benefits of a food they would otherwise be allergic to.
It is an object of the invention to overcome at least one of the above-referenced problems.